White vinegar isn't just used for cooking. Here are 10 clever reasons to use it in the garden

Lillian Teague

Contributing Writer

thespruce.com

Gardeners are always looking for quick and inexpensive ways to solve garden problems. You don't want to waste time rushing to town to purchase an expensive and harmful chemical that doesn't work well. It may surprise you to find out the solution is already in your kitchen.

Vinegar can be used in many ways to protect and beautiful your garden. You can mix it or use it on its own to solve many urgent garden problems. These 1o tips for using vinegar in your garden will help you create the beautiful garden of your dreams.

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1. Deter the family catWhile we love our pets, no one likes them digging up their garden. You can easily deter them by using household vinegar. The Nest recommends spraying it around your garden area to deter neighborhood cats from using your soil as a litter box.

3. Clean rusty toolsTo work efficiently, garden tools must be free from rust. But most of the time they live outside, so keeping them rust free can be a challenge. You don't have to scrub them with steel wool. A soak in a vinegar solution can easily return them to their best shape. Find the step-by-step process here.

4. Test your soilSoil balance is essential to beautiful blooms and plentiful vegetables. If you aren't seeing good garden production, your soil may be out of balance. Vinegar can be a quick and easy way to see the pH values in your soil. Create a vinegar soil test by following this tutorial.

5. Clean copper garden fixturesCopper can be a beautiful shiny touch to your garden. If you don't like the green patina and want to restore your copper garden decor to a shiny finish, follow this tutorial on cleaning copper with vinegar.

6. Restore clay potsMineral deposits naturally develop on the outside of clay posts. While it may seem charming to some, you may prefer to keep your pots looking nice and new. A soak in vinegar can remove the deposits and keep your clay pots nice and new. Bless My Weeds shows you how to restore clay pots with vinegar.

7. Create acidityMany plants, such as azaleas, love acidic soil. In fact, they need it to produce abundant blooms. Follow these directions for mixing vinegar and water to create the acidic soil they thrive.

8. Stop dampening offAre you frustrated when your beautiful seedlings wilt and wither over night? Dampening off is often caused by mold or fungus growing in your soil. You can eliminate these harmful substances by following this tutorial by The Thrifty Couple for using vinegar when starting seedlings.

9. Bee-friendly wasp trapKeeping bees safe is an essential part of a garden plan, but pesky wasps often cause trouble for even the most conservation-minded gardener. Earth Easy recommends adding vinegar to a wasp trap to prevent bees from entering the trap. Wasps will still be attracted, but your bees will stay safe.

10. Deter pestsPest spray can contain many chemicals that you don't want on your fruits and vegetables. Kristina at My Own Home Blog has created the perfect recipe for using vinegar to deter pests. She combines vinegar and essential oils to create an all-natural pest spray.